Insiders said the Conservative side of the Coalition wanted to push ahead with the plans but Mr Cable insisted on cancelling them. The Business Secretary is determined to block all sell-offs until after the review into the Government’s privatisation process by Lord Myners, the sources said.

Mr Cable ordered the review after accusations that his decision to sell Royal Mail at 330p a share, valuing the company at £3.3bn, has cost the taxpayer £1bn in lost profits. In a highly critical report published last week, MPs on the Business Select Committee said ministers made a “pricing decision that was too influenced by perceived risks and fear of failure rather than maximising value for money for the taxpayer.” The report echoed the earlier conclusions of the National Audit Office that the float had been poor value for taxpayers.

The Land Registry has had a monopoly on recording land and property information in England and Wales since 1862. All property deals have to be registered at the body which employs 4,500 public sector workers. The group made a surplus of £98.8m in 2012/13 on revenues of £347m. In January the Coalition launched a consultation into proposals for a joint venture with a private business to run land registration services. The idea was backed by David Cameron.

In his statement Mr Fallon did not rule out privatisation in the future. “Given the importance of the Land Registry to the effective operation of the UK property market, we have concluded that further consideration would be valuable,” he said.

He added: “The Government’s ambition for effective, digital-by-default data services remains an underlying policy objective. The business has already started its digital transformation, which has resulted in the organisation’s headcount reducing by more than half over the last 20 years. This modernisation will continue irrespective of the need to consider further the Land Registry’s commercial model, and will deliver improved services for customers.”